Christmas at the Summers house
by izzygirlxp
Summary: SpikeDawn friendship. Set in season 5 after the Gift, Dawn is trying to recover from the loss of her mom and sister, but no one seems to get what she's going through, except Spike. Will a little tale from his childhood cheer her up?
1. Christmas Hell

The young brunet teen lay in her bed, her long chestnut hair sprawled around her. Dawn whipped some tears from her eyes and sniffed, laying her head against her bronze headboard. She held a picture to her heart of her, Buffy, and her mom. " I'm the only one." She mumbled and threw the picture to her carpeted floor. Crossing her arms to her chest and cried again. No one was home, it was winter break, and Christmas eve, Willow and Tara were at the Library looking at books on robotics for some reason, Xander and Anya were Christmas shopping, Giles was in ca-hoots with the Council. Spike. Spike was still recovering from his wounds from the battle with Glory. No, not his physical ones, his emotional ones, some how he and Dawn found another thing in common, they've both lost people they'd loved. Spike more then anyone, his mom, dad, all of his friends, his first love Drusilla, and then Buffy, his eternal love. Dawn took one big sniff and grabbed a box of Kleenexes from the dresser and walked down stairs. She looked over to the side of the living room where a small Christmas tree was, it was bare and didn't have many needles, Xander said it reminded him of the "Charlie Brown Christmas Special". Willow was trying to sup up some sort of spell that could make it snow to cheer her up a little. Sometimes they act like she never died, or she never existed. Dawn threw down her tissue box and walked outside not knowing where to go exactly, she had no where else to go.  
  
Dawn looked up at the sky while walking through the graveyard, it was an hour or so before sunset, so Spike should still be in his crypt. Dawn stopped by her mother and sisters grave and sat some flowers down by both of them; she noticed two sets of roses there, white ones under her mother's grave, and red ones under Buffy's. She smiled to herself and stood up walking back to Spike's crypt. She slowly eased the door open and snuck inside, she climbed down the stairs and looked around, Spike was easily seen hunching over what looked like an old chest, in front of his bed. He was grumbling things and digging through it. He paused and sniffed the air.  
  
" Even'n Nibblet." He said not turning around, closing the chest and locking the bottom.  
  
" That get's creepy even now." Dawn replied smiling slightly. Spike got up and sat on his stone tomb.  
  
" Vampire thing." He said grinning back. " You shouldn't be out here, Sunset's soon."  
  
" First of all, it's in another hour, and second of all I can handle myself." Dawn said frowning and crossing her arms.  
  
" Uh-huh, and you're here why?"  
  
" What? I can't say hi to an old old old old old friend?"  
  
" Ha Ha."  
  
" How old are you really? Like, Bu- I heard that your not as old as Angel, but like, over a hundred." Dawn said, cutting off before saying Buffy's name, still finding it hard. Spike looked a little pained too.  
  
" Technically since I've never really aged, I'm 24. But I've been around for 146 years."  
  
" I should have added an extra old."  
  
" Do me a favor and spot handing around with Xander so much." Spike said shaking his head, knowing that Dawn usually gets any bad traits from him.  
  
" What are you doing for Christmas?" Dawn asked leaning against the side of his crypt.  
  
" Noth'n."  
  
" Nothing? Not even gonna go and get drunk?"  
  
" Noth'n mean'n go and get drunk, what's it to you anyway?"  
  
" Geeze, just making conversation."  
  
" Sorry Bit."  
  
" S'ok, I gotta go anyway, even though I'm not afraid of anything coming out to get me or anything, Willow is coming home and she doesn't know I'm gone." Dawn said walking back to the door. Spike grunted a good bye and lay down on the stone tomb, Dawn rolled her eyes and left.  
  
Dawn walked back into the Summers house only to find Willow and Tara standing over the broken pieces of the Buffy-bot. " What the hell is that thing doing here!" Dawn shouted looking at the pieces of the modeled robot of her sister. Willow didn't notice her come in, she looked up at her.  
  
" Oh Dawn your home, oh we were just working on the Buffy-bot here, trying to fix it an all." Willow said picking up an arm.  
  
" Are you okay Dawnie? You seem a little pale." Tara said stepping towards Dawn. She was still shocked seeing the figure of her dead sister lying sprawled out on the couch.  
  
" What do you need that, thing for?!" Dawn tried not to shout.  
  
" Well, since she's programmed with Buffy's traits, then she knows how to slay. So we were gonna reboot her and make it so that she can patrol with us and do other things." Willow said grabbing a screwdriver.  
  
" What kind of things?" " Do research, uh, cook I guess, if you ever have a meeting at school or something then she can go with you, since like, ya know, parent and guardians required." Willow said smiling and straightening up.  
  
" I don't believe this." Dawn said quietly, feeling the tears swell again.  
  
" Hm? Sorry I didn't hear you." Tara said picking up a circuit from the floor.  
  
" Oh Dawn, I finished that spell so I can make it snow, how about we try it later when we get the bot all fixed up eh?" Willow asked grinning, Dawn didn't reply with an answer, not even a mumble. She just bolted up stairs to her room, hot tears pouring down her eyes. She opened the door to her bedroom and slammed it running in, she locked it and fell onto her bed crying.  
  
" They're trying to replace her! I don't believe them! They're trying to replace my sister with that stupid robotic slayer wannabe machine!" She cried into her pillow and ignored all of the pleading for her to come out outside her door. 


	2. A sister for two

Dawn started to climb out the window of her bedroom, not wanting to see anyone of her so-called friends. She grabbed a coat by her bed since it was a bit chilly out. She slid down the roof and ran as fast as she could to the only place where she could be completely alone and think. The large tower tipped over the town of Sunnydale like an endless reminder of the person who gave her life for everyone, but no one seemed to care. She slowly climbed up the latter to the mid section of the tower and sat at the edge, hugging her shoulders when it felt like the temperature. She whipped away another hot tear and thought about how the other could possibly think about replacing Buffy with that dumb robot, they way they called it 'her' as if it was real. " It's not real. It's not my sister!" She cried throwing piece steel that was next to her at a gate out of rage. She pulled her knees up to her chin and cried her heart out. " Why'd you leave me Buffy? You where the only person I had left, now I don't have anyone!" She cried and hugged her knees. She heard the taping of boots behind her but ignored it, she shivered and whipped away another tear.  
  
" What are you doing up 'ere Nibblet?" Spike asked from behind her, he sat down behind her, and put his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off.  
  
" Leave me alone Spike!" She shouted at him, not turning around. He still stayed.  
  
" No luv. What's wrong?" He asked gently  
  
" Like you don't know. They probably sent you to go find me because they're to busy with the Buffy-bot." She mumbled hugging her knees.  
  
" The what?" Spike asked cocking his head. Dawn straightened up and turned around facing him.  
  
" You don't know do you?" She asked putting her legs down in Indian style. " Willow and the others are trying to replace Buffy with that ditzy Buffy- bot." She said coldly.  
  
" Dawn, your probably over reacting."  
  
" I am not!" Dawn shouted and turned around again. Spike sighed behind her and moved up closer behind her. " It's not fair! Buffy and Mom were the only people I have left, Dad's off in Spain, probably doesn't even know we exist anymore! I don't have anyone!"  
  
" Nibblet that's not true."  
  
" Stop calling me that!" Dawn said covering her ears. Spike was silent for a while, and then he took something out of his pocket and sat next to Dawn.  
  
" Ya know why I call you Nibblet? Cause it means 'little sister', and that's what you remind me of. My little sister." Spike said, Dawn uncovered her ears and looked at him. " Yeah, I had a little sister, I also had an older brother. But I loved my sister very much, I still do, but just because I call you Nibblet like I called her doesn't mean I'm replacing her. It just means that I've moved on, like you should. I'm not say'n you should forget your mum and Buffy, or act like the Buffy-bot is your new sister or something. Just try to except it." Dawn whipped a tear from under her eye and looked up at him.  
  
" I really remind you of your little sister?" She asked, Spike smiled and nodded stroking his hand down the edge of her hair.  
  
" What was her name?"  
  
" Madison."  
  
" I wish I could have met her." Dawn said looking at her feet, Spike mumbled something and took out something from his pocket.  
  
" I was gonna give you this tomorrow but I think now is better. It used to be Madison's, but she gave it to me the night I was turned into a vampire." Spike said and handed Dawn an old gold locket, it was an oval with a heart and roses imprinted on the outside and a long gold chain. Inside it was blank. " You can put a picture of your mum and Buffy in there if you want." Spike said standing up and held his hand out to her. " Ready ta go home Nibblet?"  
  
" Yeah." Dawn said smiling and put the locket on and grabbed his hand. As they made their way down the ladder and back home, two small snowflakes floating down from the sky and landed where they were sitting. 


End file.
